Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Safe harbor vote takes place today

American military deserters who fled to Canada rather than serve in Iraq hope Parliament will grant them what the immigration system and the courts have denied them: a safe haven.The House of Commons votes today on a motion urging the government to allow deserters and their families to stay in Canada as permanent residents, as was done for the draft dodgers and war resisters of the Vietnam era.The vote comes a little more than a week before Corey Glass, a 25-year-old Californian and former national guardsman, is supposed to voluntarily leave Canada, the first of what may be a stream of American deserters rejected as refugees and ordered out of the country.

The above is from John Ward's "Commons to vote on fate of U.S. military deserters" (Canadian Press via The Nova Scotia News). Ward gets credit for knowing the difference between "draft dodgers" and "deserters" as well as for knowing that both were welcome in Canada during Vietnam. However, he's on weaker ground when he says that there's a claim of "ast least one servicewoman" in Canada! There are two who have gone public: Bethany "Skyler" James and Kimberly Rivera. Which just goes to show you how little coverage the issue has received. Today the motion is voted on. You can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use. Lahey quotes NDP's Oliva Chow, who steered the motion, explaining, "If (Liberal leader) Stephane Dion were to say tomorrow that he supports this motion . . . we will then debate it. So we need people to call Mr. Dion . . . 'whose side you on Mr. Dion'?" The number to call is (613) 996-5789.

Congressional Democrats want to ban Pentagon propaganda on the Iraq war, but they are likely to find that enforcement is easier said than done.An existing legal prohibition, for example, didn't deter a Pentagon program aimed at influencing retired military officers frequently interviewed in the media. It also didn't prevent a culture within the Bush administration that former White House spokesman Scott McClellan claims favored propaganda over honesty in selling the war to the public.And what is propaganda anyway? Nearly every press briefing involves a military or civilian official trying to influence the interpretation of events.

If Panhandle Media had a leg to stand on, they could run with this story. But they're just one more propaganda mill as they've demonstrated so strongly in this current election cycle.

Leading the Popular Vote: According to Real Clear Politics, Hillary's popular vote lead over Sen. Obama has grown with her Puerto victory last night. She has won 17,916,763 votes compared to 17,723,200 for Sen. Obama when every state that has already voted is included in the tally. Read more.

Victory In Puerto Rico: Hillary won the Democratic primary in Puerto Rico yesterday, capturing 68% of the vote to Sen. Obama's 32%. Read Hillary’s remarks at the victory celebration here.

Automatic Delegate Watch: Louisiana Democratic State Party Chair and automatic delegate Chris Whittington announced his support for Hillary Clinton today saying: "There is no question that she is the strongest Democrat to go toe-to-toe with John McCain in a general election. It is our responsibility as automatic delegates to choose the candidate we believe best fit to beat Senator McCain. That candidate is Senator Clinton."

On the Air in SD and MT: The Clinton campaign began airing a 30-second spot statewide in South Dakota and Montana, highlighting Hillary's lead in the popular vote: "Tuesday, it's up you. You can join over 17 million people who've voted for a leader to fix the economy. 17 million for a Commander in Chief to bring our troops home from Iraq. 17 million who want to beat John McCain. 17 million Americans have voted for Hillary Clinton, more than for any primary candidate in history. Some say there isn't a single reason for Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic nominee. They're right. There are over 17 million of them." Over 17 million Americans have voted for Hillary Clinton, earning her more votes than anyone in the history of Democratic primaries." View here.

SD Endorsement Watch: "In a clear display of momentum two days before the primary and on the heels of multiple visits by Hillary, Chelsea and President Clinton, the Clinton campaign in South Dakota today announced the endorsement of 17 county commissioners. These commissioners, who are endorsing Hillary because of her commitment to South Dakota, have been helping the campaign’s efforts in their counties and spreading the word about why Hillary Clinton is best prepared to be President." Read more.

Celebrating Gay Pride Month: In a statement on Sunday, Hillary recognized June as Gay Pride Month and stressed her commitment to the LGBT community: "America deserves a President who appeals to the best in each of us, not the worst; a President who values and respects all Americans and treats all Americans equally no matter who they are or who they love. That is truly the promise of America."

Previewing Today: Hillary hosts "Solutions For Securing South Dakota's Future" events in Rapid City, Yankton, and Sioux Falls. In Sioux Falls, she will be joined by former President Bill Clinton and her daughter Chelsea.

On Tap: The Clinton campaign today announced that Hillary would celebrate tomorrow's election night in New York, NY.

IMPORTANT: Interested candidates are requested to E-mail their professional and political resumes with 2 to 3 references, and a completed copy of the application no later than June 8, 2008. A final hiring decision will be made June 16, 2008. Interested candidatesSend resume and references to lebowski42@gmail. com

Job Type: Administrative / Managerial / Non-ProfitLocation: New York StateBase Pay: $5,000Employee Type: Temporary Flex-TimeIndustry: PoliticalTime Frame: June 9 – August 26Supervised by: Executive Committee of the Green Party of New York State

DESCRIPTION:

The Green Party Of New York State has an opening for a Petition Coordinator to manage the 2008 Presidential petition drive in New York State. The Coordinator will oversee all petitioning efforts to get our Presidential candidate on the ballot. A target of at least 30,000 signatures, with a minimum of 100 signatures identified in half the congressional districts, needs to be met. This position has a start date of June 16, 2008. July 8, 2008 is the first day for signing nominating petitions. Aug. 12-19, 2008 are the dates for filing independent nominating petitions in Albany, NY. The Petition Coordinator is expected to be in Albany compiling the petitions no later than August 15, 2008.

Responsibilities include (but are not limited to) the following:

- Set statewide petitioning goals based on past studies and contact those with experience on past statewide petition drives. An overall target of 30,000 signatures, with a minimum of 100 signatures identified in half the congressional districts, needs to be met. July 8, 2008 is the first day for signing nominating petitions. Aug. 12-19, 2008 are the dates for filing independent nominating petitions.- Organize petition trainings across the state prior to start of petitioning.- Coordinate and schedule volunteers to assure daily goals for acquiring signatures are met.- Coordinate with volunteer regional petition coordinators.- Coordinate with Presidential and multi-county campaigns.- Assist local campaigns that are multi-county in creating and collecting slate petitions.- Network with local Green Party organizational structures, identify volunteer local coordinators, and organize local petitioning structures where the above do not exist.- Create contact database of statewide petitioning volunteers after the petition drive or work with a designated database person to pass on information.- Perform outreach for additional volunteers where needed.- Set up and manage petitioning training for volunteers where needed. Regions may do their own volunteer training.- Provide internal daily reports to key personnel for review. Key personnel can include the Executive Committee or any committee designated to oversee petition process.- Hire and supervise paid petitioners.- Perform verification of petition signatures for Board Of Election compliance.- Compile and file petition volumes in Albany, beginning no later than August 15, 2008.- Assist in overcoming challenges to petitions.- Provide post-filing written report with suggestions for improvement.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Experience in a similar position required with knowledge of New York State Board Of Election guidelines very helpful. Candidates must have demonstrated people and leadership skills through coaching, presentation, and team building. Will need to handle a fast paced work environment, and meet crucial deadlines in a timely manner. Knowledge of Green Party history, goals, and objectives in the United States is a plus. Microsoft Access, Excel, and Word skills required. Fluency with online organizing a plus.

About Me

We do not open attachments. Stop e-mailing them. Threats and abusive e-mail are not covered by any privacy rule. This isn't to the reporters at a certain paper (keep 'em coming, they are funny). This is for the likes of failed comics who think they can threaten via e-mails and then whine, "E-mails are supposed to be private." E-mail threats will be turned over to the FBI and they will be noted here with the names and anything I feel like quoting.
This also applies to anyone writing to complain about a friend of mine. That's not why the public account exists.